With Arms Wide Open A Fosters SYOC
by Tif S
Summary: SYOC recurring (Open) 15 years after the show, the Adams Foster kids are raising kids of their own, and Mariana and Mat decide to open their home and begin fostering. What will happen to this new generation? Includes Mariana/Mat, Brandon/Lou, Callie/Wyatt, Jesus/Emma, Stef/Lena and Jonnor.
1. Intro rules and Form

**Introduction**

It was Christmastime and the Adams-Foster household was abuzz. It had been a busy year for everyone bringing many changes. Stef and Lena were still in shock at the amazing men and women their children had become. They were parents themselves now raising their own families and still managing to stay connected to their siblings. The cousins were in the living room as the adults continued talking.

"I asked Amber what she thought and she's so excited. She hasn't stopped asking questions." Mariana said. "Fair warning Jude. I told her to talk to you."

"Fine by me." Jude laughed. "She should ask Brandon too. She's gonna be in his position."

"She already did." Lou looked in the living room where Brandon was sitting on the couch talking to their kids.

"We have the room." Mat shrugged. "And the resources. It's a good thing to do."

"How's Danny doing?" Callie asked. Danny was 16 years old and one of the children Stef and Lena had decided to foster that year.

"Uh…" Stef sighed. "He's good I think. He still doesn't tell us anything."

"It'll take time." Callie and Jude exchanged knowing looks. Jude had placed Danny with Stef and Lena for a reason. He was good at not letting professional and personal lines blur, but he knew that in both his personal and professional opinion that Stef and Lena could help in the same way that he knew Mariana and Mat could. It would be a challenge for all of them, making their family bigger, but they could handle it.

Amber's POV

Mom and Dad just told me they were going to foster. I'm not exactly sure how it's going to go, but at least I won't be alone in dealing with it. Our family's one big crazy blur and there's always someone to go to. It's kind of annoying actually. I'm pretty much the last person that likes noise, so the fact that our home's gonna be home for a bunch of other kids is a little nerve wracking, but the foster system did help mom and her siblings come together and find a family. Maybe it can do the same for some others. If I can help, then maybe it won't be so bad.

Danny's POV

Stef's daughter Mariana is going to foster? I pull out my headphones and listen to the adults talking in the next room. This family is definitely interesting. In the three months I've been here, they've been nothing but nice, Stef and Lena's kids too. This is the first time I've met most of them, I mean really met them. Their kids all go to Anchor Beach and they all live nearby, but I've done my best to be invisible. Not that it's done much. All it's really done is make Stef and Lena think there's something wrong with me. What if they make Jude send me back? I guess I just have to try to talk to them this year. Hopefully I can make friends with someone, then maybe I can stay.

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Alright so this is a first for me. This is a fosters SYOC story taking place 15 or so years after the events of the show. The pairings are as follows.

Stef/Lena: After Jude left for college, Stef and Lena decided to begin fostering again. Lena is now principal at Anchor Beach. Stef still does police work.

Danny Erikson- 16

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Mariana/Mat: Mariana and Mat reconnected after the tour, eventually returning to dating. They got married two years after graduating from college. Mariana is a dance teacher and Mat works at a recording studio. They had one child and decided to foster on Stef Lena and Jude's recommendation as well as to pay things forward.

Amber Tan-14

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Jesus/Emma: Emma and Jesus reconnected after Jesus returned from boarding school. They dated and got married in their junior year of college eventually having two kids. Jesus is the wrestling coach at Anchor Beach and Emma works at a daycare.

Callie/Wyatt: Callie continued her work at the drop in center after high school and into college where she studied social work, eventually being asked by Rafael to take his position. Wyatt is the manager at a grocery store. They have three kids.

Jonnor: Jude and Connor officially married three years after graduating college. They asked Taylor to be their surrogate having one child and adopting another. Jude is a social worker and Connor coaches baseball at an elementary school.

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Brandon/Lou: Brandon and Lou stayed on good terms while she was on tour. They reconnected Brandon's senior year moving in together while Brandon attended college. Lou got a record deal while she was on tour and Brandon got a degree, becoming a piano and composition coach teaching students out of their home and raising their three kids.

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Character Submission Form

Name

Age

Birth date

Gender

Grade

Sexual Orientation

Disability (If any)

Celebrity look-alike

Clothing Style

Personality

Parents ( and/or Foster Parents)

Relationship with Family

Relationship with Amber

Relationship with Danny

Type of person they would be friends with

Type of person they would date

Type of person they would consider an enemy

Storylines (3-5)

Hobbies

Favorite book

Favorite movie

Favorite music

Likes

Dislikes

Good Habits

Bad Habits

Goals/Dreams

History (What did your character go through up until this point?)

Summary (2-4 sentences)

Anything else?

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A/N: Okay so, I'm looking for a pretty even split of girls to guys, 9 and 9, but I'm open to adding more if I really like a character. You can submit up to two. I will accept twins. Submit a separate form for each one, just indicate that they're twins. Foster kids shouldn't be older than 17. They'd be out of the system then. The others, bio and adopted can be as old as 18. They shouldn't be younger than eleven. Story lines should be relatively dramatic especially if you're submitting a foster kid, just not completely unbelievable. Be as specific as possible especially in regards to history, story lines and family relationships. The more specific, the more likely I'll be able to write your character well so have fun with it. The form's on my profile, scroll down to the bottom under With Arms Wide Open. You'll see it. :) Submit characters through PM. **The deadline will be somewhere between June 26 and July 1st.** Any questions, if you want to tell me more about a character, know more about the Adams-Fosters in this verse, know what possessed me to try a Fosters SYOC, just PM! :) Happy creating.


	2. Cast List

Main

 **Stef/Lena : **

1) Danny Erikson-16-Bisexual

2) Lei-Lani Kida Mikkel-17-Lesbian (Submitted by Thedaffodilqueen)

3) Atta Eilonwy Hildegarde- 13-Straight(Submitted by Thedaffodilqueen)

4) Greyson Wolfe-14- Gay(Submitted by gleejunkie007)

5) Raina Miller- 16- Lesbian (Submitted by The Lady Cloudy)

 **Mariana/Mat : **

1) Amber Tan-14- Straight

2) Shane Wilson- 14-Straight(Submitted by immahater123)

3) Liam Wilson-14-Straight (Submitted by immahater123)

4) Brianna Tan-16-Straight (Submitted by CookieBoo)

5) Riley Rivers-11-Unsure (Submitted by Kypress)

6) Lucian Rivers-16- Straight (Submitted by Kypress)

 **Jesus/Emma:**

1) Logan Adams-Foster-Bisexual (Submitted by Unikitty101)

2) Lucas Adams-Foster-Straight (Submitted by Unikitty101)

 **Callie/Wyatt:**

1) James Dylan-13-Straight (Submitted by Guest)

2) Mara Rose-15-Straight (Submitted by AnnabethReads)

3) Piper Elise Dylan- 16-Bisexual (Submitted by WaffleManiac)

 **Jonnor : **

1) Bella Stevens-11-Unsure (Submitted by LoveBug2000)

2) Sasquia Stevens- 13-Pansexual (Submitted by OnlyJustLost)

3) Gabriella Stevens- 16- Straight (Submitted by lauraosnes)

 **Brandon/Lou:**

1) Sam Benson- 15-Straight (Submitted by gleejunkie007)

2) Moonlight Starr Marie Vazquez- 15- Bisexual (Submitted by kaium1993)

Recurring 

1) Rory Dylan-5 (Youngest daughter of Callie and Wyatt) (Submitted by AnnabethReads)

2) Julia Peters-15 (A girl in Mariana's dance class) (Melissa Benoist) (Submitted by gleejunkie007)

3) Holly Grace Bennet-15-Straight- (Submitted by Jenna)

4) Sophia Stevens-3 (Youngest daughter of Jude and Connor) (Submitted by AnaHalls)

5) Lucy Robbins-20-Straight (Submitted by Panda Maniac)

6)Travis "TJ" Jameson- 25- Gay (Submitted by kaium1993

7) Chase Scott-13-Gay (Submitted by LaurenLove121)

8) Brittany "Britt" Raleigh-15- Straight (Submitted by The Lady Cloudy)

9) Charlotte "Charlie" Owen- 14- Straight (Submitted by KittyCat)

10) Skylar Johnson- 12- Straight (Submitted by LexLola)

11)Molly Andrews-14- Straight (Submitted by XoxoFabulous)

12) Paris Woods-16-Straight (Submitted by LoveyDovey)

13) Alex Carter- 16- Straight (Submitted by PunkLily)

14) Dylan Andersen-14-Straight (Submitted by NemoLover)

15) Ryan Davis-15-Straight ( Submitted by AngelTough)

16) Stacy O'Connor-13-Unsure (Submitted by kaium1993)

 **Edits of the main cast are on my profile, just click on the polyvore link under this story's title. Edits will be up for recurring characters soon. I accepted two drop in volunteers to account for different schedules that usually happen with volunteering and shifts and such.**

 ** _So that's the cast, recurring characters will come in when it suits the story. I should hopefully have the polyvores finished in the next few weeks. School is done for me so I will be officially starting the story soon. Unsure of when the first official chapter will be up, could be a few days, could be sometime next week. :) But it will be starting soon so look out for that. :) Thanks to everyone who submitted, and there will be more opportunities as storylines get rolling._**


	3. Chapter 1

_**A/N: Hello, first official chapter :) Hope you enjoy it.**_

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 **Chapter One**

Amber's POV

There are five of us in the house now not even counting my parents, and that means mornings are crazy. My sister and I had grown up hearing the horror stories of sharing a bathroom with five teenagers in the house. Hearing it is nothing compared to living it. "Come on! You've been in there for an hour!" I pounded on the door as the volume of the singing increased. "Brianna!"

The water turned off as the door opened. "Relax Amber."

I rolled my eyes. Uncle Connor was going to drop off Gabby, Sophia and Bella in an hour so Mom could carpool everyone to the studio. I didn't have to be anywhere until after lunch, so why was I the only one worried?

"My turn!" Riley ran in between me and Brianna. Oh, that's right. One bathroom.

Gabriella's POV

"Papa! Bella made Teddy sticky!" My little sister was having one of her cranky mornings, and it was a dance day.

"I bumped him. Why does she have him at the table anyway?" Bella pouted.

"We'll get him cleaned up." Dad took the bear sitting him onto the sink.

"Bella, sit still please." Papa sighed as he handed Bella her bowl. "Gabby, you guys are coming with me to Gramma's after dance today right?"

"I guess." I said. "I was going to go to the mall with Piper."

"Practice ends at six. I'll pick you up from Callie's on the way back. You still have school in the morning." Dad said.

"I know."

"I'll come!" Bella grinned.

I turned as my sister Sasquia came down the stairs. "She lives." I laughed.

"Good morning to you too."

"There's still some left if you hurry." Bella said. "Dad said he was gonna inhale it all if you didn't get up."

"It's Sunday." As if that were a good enough excuse in the Stevens' house.

Shane's POV

"Make sure they don't burn the house down. And remember, Aunt Callie's going to be here at one." Mariana grabbed her keys from the kitchen table, addressing Amber.

Liam and I exchanged a look. I knew I wouldn't, but he actually looked like he was considering it.

"You really don't trust me do you?" Mat, Mariana's husband, scoffed.

"Of course I do sweetie." Mariana grinned. "You just have a habit of getting caught up with work."

"I trust you Dad." Amber grabbed her plate bringing it to the sink.

"Thank you. Someone in this family does." He walked over and kissed Mariana on the forehead. "Have fun with the girls."

Liam and I have been staying with the Tans for two weeks now. They seem nice enough, but getting too comfortable is never a good thing when you're a foster kid.

"Shane, did you hear me?" I blinked as I heard Amber.

"Uh… sorry."

"She wanted to know if we wanted to go to the mall with her and Molly Andrews." Liam elbowed me.

"After I finish with Aunt Callie." Amber smiled. "We're meeting outside the drop in center and we're going to walk. Maybe you guys can come. You can meet TJ and get to know Aunt Callie better too."

"I don't know. I mean we're going to be pretty busy." I looked at Liam.

"Are no...ow!" It was my turn to elbow him. We couldn't get used to being here.

"Okay, suit yourselves." Amber shrugged. "But you're missing out." She left the table.

"Dude, what the hell?" Liam glared at me as I sighed.

Brianna's POV

"Okay, we're going to work through _Hands in the Air._ " Mom grinned. "Formation one."

We got into position and began working through the number. I saw Bella trip.

"Whoa, what was that? Stop! Bella, can you try that again?" Julia Peters stepped out of formation as she turned to face us. She thinks she leads the team.

"I'm sorry, what?" Gabby stepped over. "I think we did fine. What's wrong now?"

"We're out of sync." Julia replied. "You go too far left when we're supposed to be in the middle and Bella keeps tripping over her steps."

"She's eleven!" I sighed. "What are we supposed to do? She's just as good as the rest of us."

"Push her to the back, that way she'll have less to trip over."

"Mom!" I look over to my mom. She has to do something.

"What about my solo?" Now Bella's upset. "If I'm in the back, I won't be able to get my solo right."

"Julia," Mom stops the track. "You make some good points, but Bella should be up front since she's soloing."

"A triangle could work better right Aunt Mari?" Gabby said. "That way Bella could be up front and no one would trip her."

"Even you gotta admit that's brilliant Jule." I smirked as she nodded.

"Alright, let's work it out. 5,6,7,8."

Sam's POV

I walked into the building as the little bell above the door rang. I don't know much about this place, but the sign said they help foster kids. Maybe I could get something to eat since I didn't get any breakfast.

"Hey," There was a man and a woman at one of the tables. The man was the first to notice me. "Kid, you okay?" He stood walking toward me.

"Uh…" I backed away. Coming here was a bad idea, a really bad idea.

"Ah, what's up Doc?" The man grinned.

Seriously, did he seriously just do Bugs Bunny? I couldn't help it, I smiled.

"There ya go." The man held out a hand. "I'm TJ."

"S...Sam. Is there any food?"

"I think we have some chips in the back." TJ snapped his fingers. "Back in a bit." He looked over. I followed his gaze to where a girl had just walked in from the back. "Great timing Amber, this is Sam."

"Hey!" The girl, Amber, waved. "You can come sit."

I nodded as I followed her over to the table where the woman sat. I pulled out my book. Please don't try to talk to me, please don't try to talk to me.

"So, Sam right?" This time it was the woman. She had dark hair and eyes, similar to Amber's. I wondered if they were related. "I'm Callie, Amber's aunt." Well, that answered that. She craned her neck, so she could see the book cover. " _Divergent_. Is it any good?"

"I t...think so."

"Great, thanks TJ." Callie grinned as she handed me a bag of chips and a soda.

Breakfast of champions. I noticed Amber looking at me weird. At this point it didn't matter. I was too hungry. I tore into the bag.

"You mean you didn't eat anything?" Damn it, I guess I had said it out loud.

Riley's POV

They weren't paying any attention. Amber had left with her Aunt Callie an hour ago and Mat was doing dishes from lunch. Who knew where Shane and Liam were and Brianna was out with Mariana shutting up the studio. I had to get it now. I knew from snooping around that Mat kept money in a cabinet behind his desk in his office. He didn't lock it though, the office or the cabinet. He was super chill and trusted his daughters. Shane and Liam were too scared to bother anything besides the room they shared without written permission, so that left it wide open. I could get it, get out and spring my brother before anyone even knew I had gone.

I snuck in, barely daring to even touch the door. The floor was carpet, so I could crawl. I ducked down on hands and knees as the cabinet drew closer and closer. I was just about to open the door and get the box when…

"Riley? What are you doing?" Mat. I had forgotten about the side door.

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 _ **A/N: Alright, so we met Gabriella, Shane, Brianna, Sam and Riley. We also met TJ and Julia along with the youngest Stevens girl Sophia. Gabriella and Brianna had some dance class drama, Shane's wary of Amber and the Tans, Sam seems to be having some trouble and crossed paths with TJ, Amber and Callie at the drop in center, and Riley tried to steal money from Mat but was caught. More characters and some partial answers next chapter. Tell me what you thought. :)**_


	4. Chapter 2

_**A/N: Hey, second chapter here :) Just a quick clarification. I forgot to mention this last chapter, my bad. Dad=Connor, Jude=Papa, Gramma=Lena, Nana=Stef. We meet some more characters this chapter.**_

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 **Chapter Two**

Danny's POV

"Uncle Danny, come play with us. We're playing Monopoly." Jude had brought over his daughters for a family game day, or at least that's what Lena had turned it into.

I shook my head turning back to Stef. "Do you need anything else?"

"Come on Danny! The more the merrier." Lena smiled.

"I can take it from here Love." Stef took the plate from me. "Go."

"Are you sure?"

"Get out of here or so help me… I'll stick Sophia on you." She smiled.

I walked out of the kitchen perching myself on the arm of the couch. I took notice of a small form curled up on the cushion closest to me. It was Atta. Her eyes were half closed. She didn't seem to notice me yet.

"Hey, you awake?" Might as well try to make conversation with someone. Maybe if Lena saw I was talking to someone, she wouldn't make me join their game.

Her eyes widened as she sprang up off of the couch and ran toward the staircase. Way to go Dan, you scared her. I felt a gaze on me as I searched the room. Lei-Lani was seated on the recliner staring daggers. I saw her sigh, standing and searching out little Atta.

It wasn't all that confusing. There were three types of foster kids I had come across in group and foster homes. The kinds that attach, the kinds that play host and the kinds that distance themselves so far they might as well be furniture. Atta was an attacher, Lei-Lani was the host and mother hen. As for me, well… that choice had been made for me a long time ago.

"Hey, you okay?" I felt the couch shift before I noticed who had come by, Jude. Great. He was as bad as Stef and Lena, a foster brother but he was also my social worker. I couldn't give him the shaft.

I shrugged.

"Give them a chance." He laughed. "I know my girls can come on a bit strong, but you've got a big family here. Try letting _someone_ in."

"I guess." I smirked, a question I'd been struggling with since I got here fresh on my mind. "What's with the Uncle Danny title?"

Jude laughed tapping me on the shoulder. "Just, don't count yourself out yet little brother."

Lei-Lani's POV

"Atta?" I saw her sitting at the top of the staircase, watching the action behind the railing. "What's wrong?"

"He tried, he tried to talk to me." She clutched the railing tighter as I sat beside her. "I didn't, I didn't know what to do."

"So you ran?" I smiled. "Come here." I grabbed her hand as she scooted closer to me. "You know I won't let anyone hurt you right?"

She nodded.

"I'll scope him out. Then he won't even think to hurt you alright?"

"Thanks Lei-Lani." She grinned.

"Come on."

Even as we joined the Monopoly game, I kept one eye on Danny who was seated on the couch tapping his cell phone . He'd been here longer than us, but not by much. It was surprising that we didn't know more about him. He didn't really talk to anyone or even cause much trouble. That made him even more of a mystery. I wasn't surprised that Atta was afraid of him. I think the only one that wasn't, at least a little, was Jude's daughter Bella. I don't think that girl feared anything. She was too nice.

"Ha! You're in jail 'Quia!" Bella laughed.

"Gramma, can't I get bail money?" Sasquia poked Lena.

"Hey, that's cheating. Don't be a sneak. Gramma you're not going to?" Bella said.

Lena shook her head as, next to me I saw Atta giggle. Maybe this wasn't so bad.

Moon's POV

I've been here for two weeks now. I honestly still don't know what to think. My phone keeps buzzing with texts even as I watch Brandon trying to teach.

 **Why are you ignoring me? I said I was sorry.**

Yeah, same old story. I ignore the message again and turn back to the scene in the living room.

"I did it fine." The boy at the piano rubbed his temple.

"You did." Brandon nodded. "Technically."

"So what's the problem?"

I smirked. Here it was, the Piano Prodigy Project brought to you by Brandon Foster and kid who didn't know what he meant.

 **Moon, c'mon! Call me.**

I looked down at my phone again sighing as I type a reply. **We'll talk at school.** I finally decided to just turn off my phone. I felt like crap and the couch was really comfortable. The last thing I needed was to be bugged by her via text.

"Moon, you okay?" My foster mom, Lou. Why couldn't they take the freaking hint? I didn't want to be bothered.

"Fine."

"Okay… just let me know if you need anything." I could tell she was uncomfortable. It almost made me want to talk to her, but they tried way too hard and I was tired. I saw her look at her cell phone.

"I'll be back. Brandon's around if you need anything." And just like that, she told Brandon and was out the door.

James' POV

"Can we watch _Princess and the Frog_?" My sister Rory had found her way into my room… again. It kind of made me wish Piper was home. Not that I didn't love Rory, but she sort of messed things up.

"Rory…" I grit my teeth as I watched her. She was touching the books on the nightstand.

"Oops, sorry!" She moved her hand away as I fixed the books. "Can we? Daddy said he'd make popcorn if you wanted to watch it."

I don't know how she managed it, but she convinced me, and I followed her downstairs to the living room where Dad was already letting the previews play.

"She dragged you in too huh?" Dad grinned.

"Mom's not home yet?" I sat on the couch.

"Something came up. She had to stay late."

I nodded. It wasn't uncommon for things to happen, but she usually let the volunteers handle it so she could be home before dinner. Whatever it was, it must have been a big deal.

"Quiet!" Rory waved a hand. "The Doctor song."

Dad and I laughed. Rory took the villain songs pretty serious, almost as serious as the Disney love songs, so this was pretty normal.

"Everything going okay?" Dad dropped his voice to a whisper

I nodded. A total lie really. Things were far from okay, but I couldn't tell him. I wouldn't. It had been a year and if Dad knew things were still bad, I didn't want to know what he and Mom would do.

Lucas' POV

"Lucas! Homework now." A hard rap on my bedroom door and my Mom's pissed off voice. It's like she had ESP or something. I mean, I was technically at my desk, holding a pencil with a book open. How could she tell I wasn't doing anything? "That desk isn't a drum set."

"I'm doing it Ma!" I pulled down my headphones as I shouted.

"Mmhmm." She rolled her eyes as she passed my door on her way to the laundry room. "School's tomorrow you know."

I sighed as I turned my attention back to the book Timothy had assigned. _The Great Gatsby_. I didn't understand a bit of it and we were supposed to have three chapters read. Maybe there'd be an audiobook online. That's what Gramma said to look for if I had trouble, but it just didn't seem worth it. I think Dad had the movie somewhere. It'd technically be doing the assignment if I just watched the first ten minutes wouldn't it? Nope, not worth it. I turned up the volume on my phone and pulled up Facebook. The first thing that popped up was involving Amber, ten minutes ago. _Amber Tan and Annie Hart_ are now friends. The second thing that popped up involved Anchor Beach Wrestling, my Dad's Facebook page for the team. _Come to the meet and support the wrestling team. Victory!_ He was such a whack job. The third thing that popped up was a message from Dad. **Less Facebook, more homework if you want to avoid probation.**

Damn it, having your parents as Facebook friends sucked.

Sasquia's POV

"Okay, I'll be right there. Does he have a place to stay?" Papa was on the phone. We were just about ready to leave Gramma and Nana's. "I'll call Connor, tell him to pick them up and let Mom know. Thanks Cal'."

"Papa," I could see the worry in his face. Bella and I exchanged glances. "What's wrong?"

"Bel'," He looked at Sophia who was currently spinning the board game spinner. "Can you…?"

Bella nodded. "C'mon Soph', let's go play."

"Sasquia, you have your medicine with you right?" Papa turned to me.

"Yeah…" I looked to where my bag was. In it was my sugar tester with test strips and a cool pack with insulin, along with a notebook and pen.

"Jude, what was that all about?" Nana asked.

"A boy came in at the drop-in center, pretty bad shape. They're trying to get information."

"He's gonna be okay right?" I turned to see Atta, one of Nana's foster kids.

Papa smiled. "I'm sure."

He left after making sure just one more time that I knew what to do if he or Dad didn't get back in time for dinner.

"Hey, swimming starts up again tomorrow right?" Gramma nudged me. "You excited?"

"Thank god!" I laughed. Not that I didn't like hanging with my family, but swimming was just the escape I needed.

"I take that as a yes."

Liam's POV

"Shane…" I sat on my brother's bed. "Why didn't you want to go with Amber?"

He shrugged. "No point."

I sighed. We had moved around so much and every time there was a new family, a new house, new school and new rules. Shane never seemed to get comfortable anywhere. Neither did I come to think of it. "It might be different." I really wanted to think so.

"No. It won't." Shane slammed his headphones back on.

"Come on man," I grabbed Shane's phone pulling out the cord. "They actually want to get to know us."

Shane didn't answer and I didn't wait for him to. I stood up and left the room. I had to cool down.

When I got downstairs, I saw Mariana and Mat. They were talking quietly and kept looking toward the couch where Riley sat on her hands. She looked at me.

"I don't think you wanna be down here right now."

"Why not?" I sat on the couch at the opposite end, giving her and myself plenty of space between us.

She sighed and held up a box. Peeking from the half open lid was more money than I had ever seen.

I put the pieces together. "You didn't…"

She nodded shutting her eyes and taking deep breaths. I could tell she was scared.

"It'll be okay." I stood. I could see Mat watching me. I didn't want to make things worse for Riley. They were going to be pretty bad already.

Amber's POV

" _Hey, I'm outside. You coming?_ " I was face timing with Molly. We were supposed to go to the mall, but now I wasn't so sure.

"Meet me out back." I sighed as I watched Aunt Callie texting as TJ was watching Sam draw.

" _This sounds bad. Is it bad?"_

"I'm not sure."

" _Dude, get out here and tell me."_

"Okay. I'll be right out." I ended the video call.

"Hey Amber," Aunt Callie waved me over. "Come here a sec."

I walked over to my aunt. "What's up? Did you call Uncle Jude?"

"He's on his way. You did good today. I'm letting you off the hook." She grinned. "I know Molly's supposed to pick you up."

"You heard that huh?" I bit my lip.

She nodded.

"Aunt Callie, is Sam going to be alright?" I looked again at the boy seated at the table, concentrating on whatever it was he was working on. "He won't have to go back there will he?"

"Don't worry about it." Callie said. "That's my job okay? You go have fun! That's an order." She pushed me toward the back door.

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"Oh my god, that's adorable!" Molly grabbed a blouse off the rack. "You have got to try this."

She handed me a soft purple blouse with babydoll sleeves pushing me into the dressing room.

"So what happened?" Molly was talking through the door as I changed.

I shrugged, forgetting she couldn't see me. "A boy came in."

"Ooh… details."

I laughed as I came out, doing a twirl in front of the mirror. "I don't know. He didn't really say much. He likes _Divergent_ though."

"Sounds perfect."

"Mol', you're impossible." I grinned.

"Tell me you're not the least bit intrigued."

"You ask him out then."

"Maybe I will." She grabbed a top and walked into the dressing room. "Someone's gotta give you a push."

I scoffed. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Girl, you have a new crush every week. Have you made a move at all?"

"That's ridiculous."

"Really? Caleb Mayson." She threw her hands up. "Have you talked to him, even once?"

I felt my face flame. Caleb sat next to me in English. "That's completely beside the point."

"It is totally the _whole_ point." Molly laughed. "If you don't talk to Caleb at least once, you'll never know."

"He doesn't notice me."

"Then make him." Molly shoved another outfit into my hands. This was going to be a long shopping trip.

Riley's POV

"What's going on Riley?" Mariana sat next to me on the couch. I shifted. If I told her, they'd look at me differently. They probably wouldn't even give me a chance to explain before I was kicked out, but I also wouldn't be giving him a fair chance if I didn't say anything.

"I need to get him out." I looked her straight in the eye. "I need to help Lucian."

"Who's Lucian sweetheart?" Mat knelt in front of me.

"My brother."

* * *

 _ **A/N: Okay, so we got some insight into Danny. We also met Lei-Lani and got a look at her relationship with Atta, Moon who's having trouble getting comfortable with Lou and Brandon, James who seems to be having trouble in general, Lucas, Sasquia, and Liam who seems to be having trouble with his brother. We also met Amber's friend Molly. Amber has a crush on Caleb, who is a character I made. We'll meet him later in the story. Riley stole the money to help her brother. Next chapter, we'll meet more characters and find out what's going with Sam. Also, I need a few more recurring characters for upcoming story lines.**_

 _ **The characters I need are:**_

 _ **1) A popular boy, 15 or 16**_

 _ **2) A homeless teenage girl, 13-16**_

 _ **3) A young male police officer, mid to late 20's**_

 _ **4) The vice principal at Anchor Beach**_

 _ **5) A high school student who sells pills.**_

 _ **PM if you're interested in doing a recurring character. I'll give you an idea of what I need. :)**_


	5. Chapter 3

_**A/N: Hey, finished chapter three. We meet more characters. This chapter starts Sunday night and goes into Monday morning. Hope you enjoy.**_

* * *

 **Chapter Three**

Greyson's POV

My eyes snapped open. The bedroom was dark. I could see Danny sleeping in the bed across the room. I sat up wrapping my arms around myself, and trying to resist the temptation to turn on the bedside lamp. This was the fifth time this week. I was too old for nightmares, but they kept coming back, same car crash, same outcome. I grabbed the pillow and smashed it into my face as I screamed.

"Augh!"

A light clicked on. So much for handling it. "Hey," Danny sat up, his hair sticking on end as he rubbed his eyes. "You okay?"

I said nothing, just staring blankly. I couldn't tell Danny. He'd laugh.

"Nightmare?" He stood walking over to my bed.

I ducked muttering under my breath. "No."

"I get them too." He looked at me as if he knew I was lying. He probably did, but didn't push it. "You nervous about your first day?"

I sighed. I had a feeling he wouldn't let up, and if he did, he'd just wake Stef and Lena. "I guess."

"Scoot." He moved the blanket as he sat on the edge of the bed. "It won't be that bad. Lena keeps things in good shape." He frowned. "There are a few jerks, but mostly things'll be cool."

"Doubt it."

"Look," Danny said. "I'm gonna let you in on something. People are scared of me, so worse comes to worse, just let me know. I walk by, they'll leave you alone." He grinned. "Me and Lucas, we're your guys."

I laughed. "You're lying."

"Honest truth."

"You gotta be."

"Did you see Atta earlier?" Danny got a far away look in his eye. I don't think he was as comfortable with his rep as he was trying to make me think.

"She jumps if a door slams too hard."

"You alright?" He held out a fist.

I nodded pounding back. I think I'd be okay now.

"Sleep tight Grey." He walked back to his bed and clicked off the lamp.

Piper's POV

I stood in front of my closet looking through outfits.

 **What are you going to wear?** I smiled down at my phone. Christian had been texting me nonstop since Gabby and I had seen him at the mall yesterday. We've been dating for about six months.

I pulled together an outfit, turning on my camera and taking a selfie, before proceeding to send it to him.

 **Sexy :) Can I come over for dinner?**

I bit my lip. It was a school night and I would probably have a lot of homework.

 **IDK HW you know? and I have practice:/**

 **What if I drop u off after practice? Then may I join you for dinner?**

"Piper! Mommy says you have to come down now or you and James won't get to school." Rory's voice bounced through the closed door.

"Okay Ror." I said.

 **I'll think about it :p**

I sent the message and threw my phone in my backpack, shouldering it and running downstairs.

"Morning," I grabbed a bagel off of the table. "Gotta run."

"Whoa, wait a second." Mom put a hand on my shoulder. "I'm going with Jude to work today, so your father will be by to pick you up after practice."

"Um… about that," Oh my god. "I'm meeting up with Danny after practice."

Dad nodded. "Okay,"

"We're just going to hang at the beach."

Dad's face relaxed. Whew, that was close. They would flip if they knew I was going to see Christian.

"Just text when practice is over okay?"

"Sure." I couldn't get out fast enough.

Raina's POV

"Alright troops, let's go!" I smiled in amusement as Stef shouted up the steps. It's been a few weeks since I came here and the routine hasn't lessened at all. Every morning Stef shouts up the steps, there are races to the bathroom, Stef heads to the station, and we carpool with Lena to Anchor Beach. Today was different though, sort of. Our newest foster brother, Greyson, was just starting at Anchor Beach.

"Liam and Amber said they'd show you around." Lena told Greyson.

"Cool." Greyson nodded.

"Raina, you have anything going on after school?" Lena turned so she was facing me.

I shrugged. "I was just going to walk back home."

"Are you sure you don't want me to drive you?"

I shook my head. "I like to walk."

"Lei-Lani, Atta, what about you?"

"Bella invited, invited me over." Atta said. "Is that okay?"

"That's alright with me."

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Lei-Lani looking slightly nervous. She and Atta were joined at the hip.

"You okay?" I leaned toward her.

"I'm fine." Lei-Lani said.

Alright then. We pulled up to the school. Showtime.

Logan's POV

"Come on man! We're going to be late." Lucas pounded the door. This was surprising because as a rule, my brother hated school. There must have been a girl involved. I smiled at the thought, which of course caused Lucas to scoff. "What's so funny?"

"Nothing." I shook my head.

"Freak." He grinned turning around. "Dude, you left the light on again!"

I shut my eyes. It happened every time, even after so long.

"You okay?" Lucas stopped short, looking at me.

I nodded. It was stupid. It's been years, nothing was going to happen if I turned the light off.

"Okay…" Lucas didn't sound convinced. "Come on."

I followed him downstairs as he grabbed a granola bar and an apple.

"Where are you rushing off to?" Mom stopped him which of course caused me to barrel into him.

"Meeting Danny."

"I'm sure he can wait for you to get a halfway decent breakfast. Sit down." Mom said.

I saw Dad smirk as he lifted his coffee to his lips.

I sat down, but Lucas simply gripped the seat back.

"Hot date?" Dad raised his eyebrows as Lucas shook his head rolling his eyes. "We're not leaving for a while. Chill."

I grinned into my bowl as Lucas groaned sitting in his chair. My brother was definitely a nut job.

Sam's POV

"Hey, you coming down?" Callie was on the phone. "I talked to Lou yesterday, she's cool with it." She frowned as she looked at the man seated across from me at the table, Jude, a social worker, and apparently a relative of hers. Jude had brought me back to the drop in center after letting me spend the night on his couch. He said the drop in center was a neutral location, but with all these eyes on me, it felt more like an execution.

"Hey, you remember when we talked yesterday? About an emergency placement?"

I nodded. I remembered. There had been a lot of whispering, a lot of questions about my foster home, and a lot of 'no pressures' and 'you're not in troubles'. But then, he, Jude, had just asked me normal questions.

" _I want to just talk, is that okay?"_

 _I nodded as I finished shading a sketch._

" _Whoa, that's pretty cool." He leaned over. "You drew this?" It wasn't much, just a black sky and a bunch of shooting stars. I was putting the finishing touches on the two hands. They were reaching for each other through the falling stars._

" _Sam, what else do you like to do?"_

" _Reading."_

 _He nodded toward my backpack. I had at least four books in it. "Guess I should have known that." He smiled._

I snapped back to the scene at the drop in center as the bell above the door rang. A man and a woman walked in.

"Hey, we got here as fast as we could." The woman walked over. "Dropped Moon off early."

"Hey Lou," Callie smiled. "Jude's first thought was you guys. Hope it isn't too much trouble."

"Hey there," The man stopped in front of me. " I'm Brandon. Mind if I sit?"

Lucian's POV

"Looks like it's your lucky day kid." An officer spat at my feet as he unlocked my cell. "Someone paid your bail."

I tensed up, not responding, not even making eye contact. Fuck. This could mean one of two things: either she found me, or Riley had gone and done something stupid.

"Doesn't look like he could handle you anyhow, some hipster looking guy and a little girl." This guy was still talking, and worse he'd confirmed what I thought. Riley was the one who got me released, and she'd dragged her foster parents in on it.

The officer dragged me through the hall as I avoided the glares of the other guys. He handed me the bag with my street clothes, spitting at me one last time for good measure before he undid my cuffs and shoved me through the door. I was officially outside.

I saw Riley and a man with long dark hair. Riley broke away from the man and ran over "Lucian!"

I glared pushing her an arm's length away. "What the fuck were you thinking?"

* * *

 _ **A/N: So we met Greyson, who has his first day at Anchor Beach, Piper who is dating Christian, a character I made, Raina, Logan and Lucian, who was just bailed out of juvie by Riley and Mat. We also saw a bit more of Sam, who is just meeting Brandon and Lou who will be his emergency placement. Next chapter we meet the last three characters and see how school is going. Any predictions?**_


	6. Chapter 4

_**A/N: Hey, here with the next chapter. We meet the last three characters and get a brief glimpse into school.**_

* * *

 **Chapter Four**

Bella's POV

I was trying to get to my math class. It was my fourth class before lunch. My day had been pretty good so far. I saw Atta in my social studies class. We spent the whole class period talking about what we were gonna do later.

"Cute outfit Bella, where'd you get it, the thrift shop?" Oh god. Not again. Stacy O'Connor stopped in front of me.

"Leave me alone." I tried to step around her, but she just followed me.

"What's wrong? I just want to talk." She put her hands on her hips.

"I don't." I shoved past her with a grin. "Have a good day!" Kill them with kindness. Maybe it would work.

"Hey Bella," Before I knew what was happening, I was falling, hitting the ground hard as my books went flying. "Have fun in class nerd!" I heard Stacy and her cronies laughing as their heels clicked down the hallway. It wasn't until I couldn't anymore that I started gathering up my books.

"Hey, Bells? You okay?" I looked up. It was Amber and her friends.

I wiped my face, nodding quickly as I smiled. "Yeah, I'm fine!"

"Here," Molly picked up some papers as she put them in the folder closest to her. "Stacy O'Connor?"

"How'd you guess?"

"We saw her down the hall laughing like the Wicked Witch," Amber said. "Want us to walk you to math?"

"No, I think I'll be fine. Thanks!"

"Okay," Amber frowned. "See you later."

Greyson's POV

"Alright, before we start, I wanted to take a moment to welcome our new arrival." I groaned inwardly. No, no, please don't. "Greyson Wolfe correct?" He motioned for me to stand. I could feel the eyes on me.

"Yeah, that's me." I didn't meet anyone's eyes but I could hear the whispers.

"That's the foster kid. Isn't the principal like fifty?"

"Good to meet you Greyson, I'm Timothy."

"He's such a dork."

I nodded sitting down quickly trying to block out the whispers.

"Alright, _To Kill A Mockingbird,_ can anyone remind me where we left off? Come on, don't be shy."

* * *

It was like I was loaded on springs and when the bell rang, I couldn't get out fast enough.

"Hey, Greyson! Wait up." I forgot I shared the class with Liam. "You're fast, did anyone ever tell you that?"

"I guess."

"Dude, you should like try out for track or something. Do you run?"

I did actually. I smiled and nodded. "Is there a team?"

"Dunno, I think so." Liam shrugged. "Keep it up though. You doing anything right now?"

"Isn't it lunchtime? Shouldn't we go to the cafeteria?"

"Nah," Liam grinned. "I got someplace better. Come on."

Mara's POV

"Hey, why you cryin'?" Another kick in the stomach. "Look Timmy, she's cryin'." I curled up on myself, trying to lessen the impact. It had been a long time, but it still felt as fresh as ever. I still couldn't go in that bedroom.

"Ain't you a little old to be crying Mara?" The other boy, Ren, bent down so his cigarette smoke blew in my face.

"HEY!" I blinked and looked up to see Emile Houston, the one who ran our group home. I'd never been so glad to see her. I'd rather have had to deal with her right now. "You got ten minutes before the social worker comes. You better straighten out and make me look good."

Ren and Timmy walked away throwing their cigarettes at my feet.

"Well," Emile glared at me.

"W...what?"

"Pick them up! And quit crying."

I could feel myself shaking as I bent down to grab the cigarettes, the hot tips burning my skin. The doorbell rang at that same moment as Emile ran to the door.

"Well, hello. Come on in."

I peeked in to see a man and a woman standing at the door. The man held a clipboard.

"Mrs. Houston? I'm Jude Stevens, the social worker. This is Callie Dylan, she's helping me out."

"Hi." The woman was greeting Mrs. Houston, but she had seen me. She was looking right at me.

Atta's POV

I met up with Bella after class. Her dad Connor had picked us up. I was nervous, but Bella seemed really nice. I had never been anywhere without Lei-Lani. I was also really excited, because I'd get to meet the other girls.

"What, what are we doing?" I asked.

"Dad's taking us all for ice cream." Bella grinned. "I've been bursting to tell you all day, but Gabby told me I had to keep it a surprise. Except 'Quia had swimming, so she's not coming."

"Way to go blabbermouth." Gabby sighed.

"We're getting ice cream!" Bella's little sister Sophia was grinning from ear to ear.

"Not quite yet." Connor held up a hand. "First, we're getting food, then we're getting ice cream."

"Cool."

Danny's POV

"Hey Danny!" I was at my locker getting my things for homework when a pair of hands covered my eyes. "Guess who?"

I shook my head. "Give it a rest Pip." I could feel her scowl before I turned around to see it. She absolutely hated that nickname which is what made it so fun.

"I need you to cover for me." Piper said it all in one breath. "I told Mom and Dad we were going to the beach."

Risking a friendship with Piper could be dangerous, yet she was the one I had gravitated towards when I first came to the Adams Fosters. Even now I couldn't say why. She constantly needed cover for something, and usually that something came with a hefty consequence, but she didn't seem to mind even when she actually did. I think that was it, she was confident. Me, I was cautious.

"What is it this time?"

Her smile at her cell phone was all the answer I needed. "I sort of told Christian I would meet him."

Christian Kyle was Piper's boyfriend and a dick of epic proportions. "Piper, tell me you can get out of it."

"He's here now. On the beach." Piper wouldn't look at me.

"You're lucky I like you." I sighed. "Let's just go before I change my mind."

"Thank you! Thank you!"

"Don't push it."

* * *

 _ **Alright so we got Bella's view, she's having some trouble with a bully. Greyson and Liam have a friendship forming and Greyson's starting to have some trouble as the new kid. Atta's going to spend the day with Bella, Connor, Gabby and Rory. We met Mara, who is in a group home that Callie and Jude are inspecting. We also got a glimpse into Danny's friendship with Piper. Piper asked him to cover for her while she meets with Christian who Danny doesn't seem to like. Next chapter is where things really start. We'll officially meet Christian, get some more with Riley and Lucian, more with Sam, and more with some others as well. Also, still need the recurring characters.**_

 **1) A young male police officer mid to late twenties. Could be straight or bi**

 **2) The vice principal at Anchor Beach**

 **3) Freshman boy 14-15-gay**

 **4) A high school student who is lesbian**

 **5) Swim Coach**

 ** _Also, I'm wondering if I should include Mike in the story. He's going to come in, but I'm wondering to what degree he should be included and if he should foster as well. I'd love your thoughts!_**


	7. Chapter 5

_**A/N: Hey, here with the next chapter, covered a little less than I planned, but it's full of drama.**_

* * *

 **Chapter Five**

Lucian's POV

I had gotten settled in fairly quickly, and by settled in I mean that I went straight to the bedroom that was meant to be mine and shut the door, much to the surprise of my overeager new foster parents. Seriously Mariana, Mat's wife, was like a hyperactive squirrel on Red Bull, trying to make sure I was okay, trying to make conversation. It was like she didn't have anything better to do until Mat reminded her that they had to call my parole officer. That's when I made my escape.

"You couldn't at least try to be nice?" And now I was getting squealed at by my sister. "Or did you want to stuck in that hellhole?"

I covered my face with the pillow. "You still don't get it do you?"

"I wanted to help you." Riley said. Her lip was quivering, Jesus. "I missed you."

"You think I didn't? But Jesus Christ Riley, that was a stupid move!" My voice was getting louder with every word.

"Okay fine, remind me not to help you again you jerk!" She turned and stormed out leaving me alone.

I fell back onto the bed, still not content enough to let myself relax. Riley may not have realized what she had done, but I knew it was only a matter of time. We had left. We had gotten out from under Gina, but no one, no _one_ is supposed to try to get out from under Gina. Once you're in you're in, and we were out which meant we were royally screwed. Any other person would think they were being paranoid, but I knew I wasn't. They were good, the best in the business, and they'd find us. I knew I could handle myself, but Riley didn't know any better. She'd been spoiled these last few months with this family. She'd probably been tailed this whole time, or not. I knew they were waiting for me. I was the ticket, the license for Gina's particular brand of crazy. I had almost blown her whole operation by leaving with Riley, getting arrested. She'd be out for blood.

I heard a knock on the door and sat up as it opened. "Hey, I never introduced myself," The girl was tiny with long dark brown hair. "I figured I should. You're Riley's brother right?"

I said nothing.

"I'm Amber, Mariana and Mat's daughter." She grinned. "I take it you're not a talker."

"Depends." I shrugged.

She looked at her phone. "Oh dang it! I'm gonna be late. Nice meeting you!" She ran out of the room. I smiled to myself. Nice, that's what they were. Just nice.

Sam's POV

"Well, this is it." I was sitting with Lou on the couch as Brandon prepared the living room for whatever company he was expecting. I wondered what he did. They were both home. I had never seen that before. "Our niece Amber's coming by for lessons. You've met her right?"

I nodded. Amber seemed nice. "Lessons?"

"Brandon teaches piano." Lou said standing up. That explained the piano then. She looked over as she saw the other girl that lived with them. "Moon! Come meet Sam and help us set the table."

The girl, Moon, was definitely interesting. She was dressed head to toe in black, but it didn't make her seem unapproachable. To me, it seemed to be the opposite. "Hey, I'm Moon."

Lou smirked. "Someone seems to be in a better mood today."

"Sam." I nodded back.

"New day." Moon said.

"How was school?"

* * *

She shrugged. "Same old, same old." She looked at me. "Can I get a hand?" She held up the glasses pointing to the cabinet. "There's more in there."

The doorbell rang. "You're good in here?" Lou asked. "I'll be quick just have to get the door."

She left leaving me and Moon to set the table. That's when it happened. I was reaching up to grab the next glass and put it on the table, but then my foot got caught on the mat under the sink.

I fell and the glass splintered. I crawled backwards, feeling the shards digging into my hands. Oh god!

"What the hell?" Everyone was in the kitchen now. Brandon, followed closely by Lou and Amber. "What happened?"

"I...I'm sorry. I'm sorry it was an accident." I shut my eyes. I knew it was coming it always did.

"Sam?" I could hear Brandon's footsteps coming closer as I opened my eyes into slits. "Relax. Okay?"

"I...I tripped and it fell. I didn't…" I couldn't breathe. I had to get away.

"Brandon, go. We'll be in in a while." Lou said.

"Uncle Brandon," I saw Amber pull him away.

It wasn't until they were out of the kitchen that I felt myself able to breath again. It was too close.

"Alright kiddo," Lou pulled me away from the broken glass. "Let's get you patched up then we're all going to talk."

I nodded.

* * *

Later, after Lou had helped me clean up we were on the couch again. Moon and Amber had went upstairs, to talk girl stuff, Lou said, but I think they just felt awkward. Brandon had brought the piano stool over and he was sitting across from me.

"You want to tell us what that was about?" Lou asked.

I sighed holding my hand steady on my lap. It hadn't stopped shaking since I dropped the glass. "I thought...I did something wrong. My Dad, he, he hurt me every time I did something wrong."

Brandon and Lou exchanged a look. They both looked pretty shocked. It made me feel even worse.

"Sam, look at me." Brandon placed a hand on my knee. I glanced up. " _No one_ is going to hurt you when you make a mistake. Got it?"

"I…" I was shaking.

"You're safe here." Lou said. "Brandon and I, we're here for you, you _and_ Moon. You're a part of this family, just as much as Amber, just as much as anybody."

I blinked. "Thank you."

No one had ever said that to me before. Brandon and Lou were strangers and already they were trying to help me. It felt good.

"Well," Brandon stood. "I've got to get to work. You okay now?"

I nodded. "I think so."

He smiled holding out a hand. "You ever feel anything like that again, tell me. We've got to work together on this. Cool?"

I shook. "Cool."

Piper's POV

"Hey beautiful." I turned as I heard Christian. He was grinning and holding a single red rose. "For you." He handed it to me.

I glanced over at Danny. He hadn't left, only choosing to move to the other side of the beach fiddling with his phone like usual. He caught my eye and rolled his. I stuck my tongue out.

"What, you need a chaperone now?" Christian had seen the exchange raising his eyebrows.

"Please be nice." I sighed kissing him on the lips. "He means well."

He scoffed. "Yeah, sure."

"He's just protective." I grabbed his hand. "I brought my soccer ball. Can we just try to have a good time?"

He relented grinning. "Sure."

"Thank you." I tapped him on the shoulder as I dropped the ball ahead of me. "Catch me if you can babe."

"You are so on! If I win, I come over for dinner."

The pick up game lasted for what seemed like hours as we chased each other down the beach. As we played, my thoughts wandered. Times like this with him were so few. More and more, we were arguing about my family, especially my parents, cousins and uncles, which is what Danny would be soon enough. I had overheard Gramma and Nana talking to Mom and my aunts and uncles. Danny didn't know yet, nobody even knew that I did. But is Chris what I really wanted? I didn't need someone who constantly bashed my family. Christian could be so sweet. He was old school Nicholas Sparks kind of romantic, but sometimes I felt like he was making me choose. I'd give it a few days, wait until after this dinner. Maybe I was overthinking.

"I beat you Piper, you know what that means?" Christian came up behind me tickling my ribs and planting kisses through my hair. "We have to do that family dinner. No backing out."

"Fine. "I shrugged. This would be the deciding factor, either the nail in the coffin or the thing that raised him higher in my eyes.

"Hey Danny Boy, you staying for dinner?" Christian nudged Danny.

Danny shook his head. "Curfew's in an hour. Stef and Lena'll be wondering where I am."

Christian smirked. "Wow, you really are little orphan Andy eh? Quite the boy scout." He turned to me. "Isn't your Mom his foster sister, she wouldn't care."

"Do you have to be such a dick?" Danny shoved him.

"You fucking punk!" Before I knew what was happening, Christian had pulled back his fist and slammed Danny in the jaw. He fell backwards into the sand.

"Damn it!" I shouted and ran over to him. "Chris, what was that for?"

"He was being a smart aleck."

"So you hit him?"

Christian smirked. "Someone's gotta teach him something."

I glared. "You know what Christian, forget dinner. Screw you, we're done."

"Because of one stupid fight, Jesus Babe melodramatic much?"

"No, it's a lot more than that." I helped Danny to his feet. "Wait here. This'll just take a minute."

"Sure." Danny's response came out muffled through his hand.

I motioned Christian to follow as we walked down the beach.

"So, what?" He crossed his arms. "Do you not like me anymore?"

"No Chris, it's not…" I rubbed my forehead. "I just, I feel like every time I'm with you, it's a choice between you and my family. I know… I know they're crazy, believe me, but… you can't ask me, you can't ask me to choose. And treating them like that, it's not going to make me choose you."

"Piper… I'm sorry I upset you, but I think you're overreacting. Danny, he's, he's not a part of your family yet. Just because I tease him… it doesn't mean I don't like your family."

I narrowed my eyes. "You're wrong. And it's not just him either. You think it's a joke, what you say about my brother, my parents. It's not, not to me."

"Come on Piper, don't be like that."

"You said James should be medicated."

"He flips out when you move a book an inch." Christian smirked. "It's kind of funny."

"You don't joke about something like that!" I groaned. "You just don't!"

"Piper," He reached for my arm.

"Don't touch me. Just… just leave me alone." I turned around wiping my eyes as I walked away to where I had left Danny.

* * *

"Hey, you alright?" Danny looked at me.

"I'm fine. It was bound to happen sooner or later." I sighed. "Besides, shouldn't I be asking you that?"

"This?" Danny moved his hand from his mouth. It came away red. "I've had worse, don't worry." He tried to grin. "Ow… hurts...to smile. Chris has got a killer right hook. He should take up boxing instead of soccer."

I grinned. "Aw Dan, I think that's the nicest thing you've said about him."

"I'm not all bad you know." He winced. "Shit. You think Callie has ice at the house? If I come home like this, Stef'll put out an APB on the guy."

"Come on."

* * *

When we walked into the house, the first person that we saw was Rory. She was sitting on the floor coloring and when she looked up, her mouth formed an O.

"Did you get into a fight or somethin' Uncle Danny?"

"Some jerk stole our soccer ball. It was nothing." Danny was quick to respond.

"Did you get him good Piper?"

I nodded, careful to keep my voice light. "We sure did. Is Mom around?"

"Mommy, Daddy and Uncle Jude are in the kitchen with a girl. I think she got into a fight too."

Danny and I exchanged a glance. He shrugged as we headed for the kitchen.

I saw the girl sitting at our kitchen table. She had dark hair, and her eyes were darting all around. Rory's estimation was accurate. She had bruises along her forehead. Her eyes landed on Danny and they widened.

"Danny?"

I looked over. Danny looked like he had seen a ghost. His hands balled into fists as his voice came out a whisper. "Mara, what happened?"

* * *

 _ **A/N: Okay, so Lucian is getting used to things at Mat and Mariana's and he knows something Riley doesn't regarding a woman named Gina. Sam is starting to open up to Lou and Brandon and he and Brandon are going to work on their relationship after he and Lou learned a bit about his past. He also met Moon. Piper and Christian are having trouble and Christian hit Danny. Danny also seems to know Callie and Wyatt's newest foster daughter Mara. Piper also knows that Stef and Lena are thinking of adopting Danny. Also big announcement. I have decided to include both Mike and AJ in the story. They'll be introduced soon.**_

 _ **The recurring characters I still need are:**_

 **) A young male police officer mid to late twenties. Could be straight or bi**

 **2) The vice principal at Anchor Beach**

 **3) Freshman boy 14-15-gay**

 **4) Swim coach**


	8. Chapter 6

_**A/N: Here's the next chapter, sorry it took so long. Hope you enjoy!**_

* * *

 **Chapter** **Six**

Mara's POV

"Well, this is unexpected." Callie looked between Danny and I. "How do you know each other?"

I saw Danny shrug as he walked over to grab a paper towel for his mouth. "Foster system lets you cross paths with a lot of people I guess. We were in the same group home…" his forehead wrinkled. "Two years ago?"

I nodded as I felt my chest tighten. The same home I'd been pulled from just hours ago.

"Well, I wouldn't worry." Jude said. "Houston Housing didn't pass. I'll be paying them another visit soon enough."

Again, I saw Danny tense up, but the other girl placed a hand on his shoulder and he relaxed.

"This is our daughter Piper." Callie said. She then looked back over at Danny, finally noticing his swollen mouth which was _clearly_ swollen now that Danny had wiped the blood. "Oh god! Danny, what…?"

"It's nothing." Danny sighed. "Chill out Cal'."

"That's not nothing." Callie ran to the fridge grabbing ice cubes. "What happened?"

Piper and Danny exchanged a look. "Some guy just tried to steal the soccer ball, wouldn't give it back." Danny sighed. "Honestly, it was stupid."

"Put ice on it." Callie said. I saw her look at Piper who wouldn't meet her eyes. "Piper, go wash up for dinner okay?"

"Cal', I gotta get home. Stef's gonna kill me." Danny said.

"You're not going anywhere." Callie said. "At least not until after dinner. I'll call Mom and let her know."

Jude stood from the table. "I've gotta get going, but I want to talk to both of you tomorrow." He looked between Danny and I. "Come by the drop-in center."

"Sure, will do." Danny held up a hand as he and Jude high fived. I shrunk back. I couldn't.

After he left, Danny nodded toward the living room. "Come on."

* * *

"You've still got that scrappy dog instinct." I nodded toward Danny's mouth. "Who was it this time?"

"Some guy being an ass." Danny shrugged.

"Was it really over a soccer ball?"

"Does it matter?" Danny asked. "What about you? Who did this?" He reached over touching the bruise on my forehead.

"Touche." I sighed. "So, you lucked out. Got out before…" I wrapped my arms around myself as I closed my eyes.

"No." Danny shook his head. "I may have gotten out but it was a while before I got lucky. We still had to see Bobby…" He shuddered. "How have you been handling it?"

The truth of the matter was, I hadn't. Not really. It had turned into constant nightmares and flashbacks, but I didn't want to tell him. I couldn't let him worry. So I settled on the next best question. "Did you find her?"

He shook his head. "I'm trying. I checked every way I know how, but nothing."

"I'm sure she'll turn up. Did you try talking to your social worker?"

"I can't."

"Didn't you say…?" I trailed off.

"Yeah," He huffed. "That doesn't mean I'm bringing it up." He stood turning around as he walked away. "I'm going to see if Wyatt'll drop me off. Maybe I'll see you around." I'd pissed him off. I was good at that.

I nodded. "Sure."

Shane's POV

It had been a long day, a really long day. And Liam hadn't met me to walk home after school. Even now as we waited for dinner to be ready, he seemed different.

"Dude, what's going on?"

He looked up from his schoolbook. "I'm… doing homework."

"You know what I mean. Where were you after school?"

He sighed. "I met up with Greyson."

I raised my eyebrows."Stef and Lena's new kid?"

He nodded. "We had a few classes together. He's cool. You'd like him."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

He turned the page in his book. "Do I have to tell you everything? Last time I checked, Mariana and Mat were our foster parents."

I shook my head. "I'm not saying…"

He scoffed. "All you do is go to school and sit in here like some kind of hermit. If I didn't mention you every once in a while, no one outside Mariana and Mat's family would know you were still around. You're missing out man. We might have actually gotten lucky with this family." He sighed. "Just, come out with us tomorrow. I promise you'll have fun. The beach during lunch."

I nodded. "Sure."

Liam grinned. "Awesome!"

Amber's POV

I played again through the piece, trying not to pay attention to Chase who sat on a chair nearby. I didn't even have to look to know he was frowning.

"What did you think Chase?" Uncle Brandon turned to him. It was an exercise in critiquing. Brandon always made us judge each other's playing, to help each other out.

"She missed three key changes. It was technically sloppy, but her extension was good."

I sighed. I knew it too.

"All fixable." Brandon said. "Can you think of anything else? Something she did well?"

"I guess she put emotion into the song." Chase shrugged.

"That's right!" Brandon said. "And that's something that's just as important. I want you to take this." He handed us sheet music. I laughed.

"Really Uncle Brandon?" I had known this song since I was seven.

"Twinkle Twinkle?" Chase wrinkled his nose. "This is a beginner's piece."

"So, your technique should be fine. I want you guys to work together, and help each other make it something different. Get out of your own way."

"Okay." I nodded looking over to Chase who sighed.

"Sure."

* * *

 _ **A/N: Alright, so Danny and Mara talked a bit. Jude asked them to meet with him. Danny's been trying to find someone, but won't ask for help. Mara's dealing with her own issues regarding their shared past in the group home, Liam convinced Shane to have lunch with him and Greyson and Amber got a task for piano from Brandon. We also officially met Chase, Brandon's piano student.**_

 _ **Recurring characters I still need are**_

 _ **1)**_ **A young male police officer mid to late twenties. Could be straight or bi**

 **2) The vice principal at Anchor Beach**

 **3) Freshman boy 14-15-gay**

 **4) Swim coach**


	9. Chapter 7

_**A/N: Okay, so chapter seven is finally ready. I had a bit of a writer's block for this story, I wasn't sure who to focus on, but I came out of it now and the chapter is ready.**_

* * *

 **Chapter Seven**

Moon's POV

I looked again through the photos. I had a whole box. There was another picture of him and Emma. He had her hand clutched in his tiny one and was grinning big at the camera, the smile so much like his father's.

"Moon, dinner's going to be ready." I looked up to see Lou standing in the doorway. "What's that?"

I quickly leaned over the bed pushing the box underneath. "Nothing."

She didn't look convinced. "Okay… when you're ready, come downstairs."

I nodded, breathing a sigh of relief when she disappeared to go back down. I looked at my phone, 2 new messages. Both from Jodie.

 **We all good?**

 **Will you please give me some kind of answer so I know you're alive? :p**

I sighed. We had talked at school, but Jodie never was good at taking hints. I opened the drawer on my nightstand and grabbed the bottle, unscrewing the cap and taking two pills dry. I could already feel myself calming down.

 **4 now** I typed back.

 **Great 3 See you tomorrow.**

I tossed my phone to the side and grabbed the box from under my bed. Just two more days, two more days until I got to see how he was doing.

Lei-Lani's POV

I was sitting on the couch watching some stupid clip show on TV. Atta had sent me a picture of her, Bella and Connor at the ice cream shop. At least she looked like she was having fun.

"Hey," I looked up as I heard the front door open and saw Danny walk in. "Stef and Lena around?"

"I think they're in the kitchen." I noticed the bruise on his face. "What happened?"

He shrugged. "Guy looking for trouble."

I raised my eyebrows. "You fought some guy for no reason?"

"There was actually a very good reason." He sighed. "Look, about yesterday, with Atta, I wasn't trying to scare her or anything. I don't know what she told you."

I couldn't help it. I laughed.

"Uh… did I miss something?"

"You just sound so… oh my god!"

His face screwed up. "I'm trying to apologize… and you're laughing at me?"

I coughed. "Sorry, it's just, you come in after beating up some guy and now you're apologizing. It's…" I search for the right words. "Not what I expected."

"So, did I redeem myself?"

"To be determined."

"Fair enough." He nodded before disappearing into the kitchen, presumably to search out Stef and Lena.

I leaned back, not even focusing on the show at this point. My thoughts were elsewhere. It's been nine years, almost to the day, since the accident and accepting Danny's apology had taken all my energy. All I wanted to do now was curl on the couch and be alone.

"Lei-Lani…" So much for that. I turned around to see Lena. "What's wrong sweetheart?"

I sighed wiping furiously when I realized tears had started to fall. "Nothing."

"Lei-Lani," Lena walked into the living room. "You haven't moved from here since after school. Talk to me please."

"It's nothing okay? Leave me alone! Just leave… please."

"Okay…" Lena nodded even though she looked like she wanted to stay. "We're here if you need to talk though. Remember that."

I bobbed my head as she put a hand on my shoulder and left the room. This family was definitely different.

James' POV

I was helping to set the table for dinner. Mara was there too. She hadn't said anything, not since Dad had left to drop off Danny.

"James, how was your day at school?" Mom was pretty good at noticing lulls in the conversation, or in our case a lack of any conversation. And of course, she brought up the one thing I actually didn't want to talk about.

"James doesn't like talking about school Mommy."

I groaned. "Shut up Rory!"

She rolled her eyes. "It's true though. I was just trying to help."

"Don't." I snapped. "God, you're such a brat."

I saw Rory's lip start quivering as Mom glared. "James!"

"Um…" Mara glanced over to the living room. "I can… I can go if…" I didn't even hear her leave the room.

Mom shook her head. "What's going on with you?"

I shrugged.

"If something's bothering you, just tell us."

"Nothing's wrong!"

I heard the front door open. "Moms say hi." Dad entered the kitchen noticing our stalemate almost immediately. "Everything okay?"

Rory ran over to him, now full out crying. She was confused. I felt a pain in my chest. I was an asshole. I did the only thing I could think of, started retreating upstairs.

" James," Mom's tone had softened. I turned on the steps. "We'll talk about this later, okay?"

"Sure."

* * *

 _ **A/N: Alright, so Moon was reminiscing a bit, got a few texts from Jodie. We'll meet her later. Lei-Lani talked to Danny about Atta, and is dealing with an anniversary, but still won't open up. James is acting out a bit and having trouble, seemingly related to school. We'll find out more information about that soon too. I still need some recurring characters ASAP. PM me if you're interested.**_

 _ **1)**_ **A young male police officer mid to late twenties. Could be straight or bi**

 **2) Swim coach**

 ** _Next chapter, we'll hear from Greyson, Lucian's first day at Anchor Beach with some unexpected guests, and dance class with a twist._**


	10. Chapter 8

_**A/N: Alright, so this chapter's pretty long. A lot of new characters are introduced and some real drama is set up.**_

* * *

 **Chapter Eight**

Lucian's POV

"So, are you nervous?" Riley asked. We stood on the beach watching other students meander around before first bell. That was one thing I could say about Anchor Beach. They had gotten their name exactly right. "Are you?"

Was I nervous about my first day? Honestly I didn't feel anything. It was just another school where we went to learn a bunch of useless crap. "No."

"You're not at least a little scared?"

I shrugged. I was scared about something, but it had nothing to do with school. "What's there to be scared of?" I scoffed. "Getting shoved in a locker?"

"Well," Riley said. "Yeah."

"You've gone soft Ri'." I smirked.

"You're happy about that. You know it." Riley stuck her tongue out.

"Sure."

The bell went off then as Riley ran off. "I'll see you later! Good luck!"

I sighed. "Thanks."

"Okay Lucian Rivers, here's your schedule and your locker number." The woman at the desk smiled. I looked at the nameplate on the desk: Katherine Gonzalez, Vice Principal. "Have a great first day."

I nodded as I left, looking at my schedule. My first class was with a teacher named Timothy, some literature class.

"Hey, you need help?" I looked up to see a boy pointing at my schedule. Great, so much for keeping my head down.

"Nah," I shook my head. "I got it." I started walking in the direction of the classroom. The boy cut me off.

"Really, cause Timothy's class is that way." He grinned as he pointed behind me. "Don't worry, happened to all of us. I'm Clark."

"Thanks for the heads up." I said. "Lucian." Maybe if I said thank you and introduced myself, he'd leave. I really just wanted to get this day over with.

"I have Timothy this period too. I'll walk you." Shit.

"You really don't have to…"

"Just think of it as us going in the same direction." Clark shrugged. "I won't talk to you if you don't want me to."

I rolled my eyes. "I appreciate that."

He nodded.

* * *

We walked into class sometime later. Clark had kept good on his word even though he looked like he wanted to talk the whole time. I guess he didn't want to make things any weirder on my first day or maybe he was just one of those people pleasers.

He walked over to the teacher at the front of the room, I assumed he was Timothy. "New kid."

The teacher smiled. There had to be something in the ocean water here. People actually seemed happy to be here. "Well," He took the paperwork I handed him. "Nice to meet you Lucian. Why don't you take a seat in the back next to Lucas?"

The kid waved his hand, an ever-present smirk on his face. I walked over to my seat and sat down.

"You look thrilled." Lucas leaned over. "I think we'll get along pretty well."

I looked around the room, just a cursory glance. I wanted to see who else was in the class. In front of Lucas, I saw a familiar head of blond hair.

"Well, well. Look who Lukie has as a neighbor. Get stuck with all the new kids eh Adams-Foster?" The boy turned looking at Lucas, but I could see his Cheshire grin was intended for me. It felt like I was seeing a ghost. In a way, I sort of was. My eyes narrowed. It was Vincent.

"Shut up." I saw Lucas clench his fists under the desk.

"Fine, fine." Vincent smirked swirling around in his seat just before Timothy began addressing me.

"Alright, so Lucian, we started reading _the Great Gatsby_. We're going to take some time to read silently for those who didn't get to finish, or those who have questions." I notice he was looking at our section of the rows of desks. This was going to be fun.

Greyson's POV

"Hey! Over here." We were sitting on the beach. It seemed like it was a regular thing for Liam to do, so I wasn't surprised when he waved over some others. Two boys came over.

"Hey Liam, how's it going?" The boy that greeted Liam was smiling ear to ear. The other I noticed was looking at me warily.

"Hey bro."

"Hey Noah, Shane, have you met Greyson yet?"

"So this is Greyson?" Shane smiled crookedly. "Nice to meet you."

Noah turned to me shaking his head. "Can't say I have, not officially anyway." He snapped his fingers. "You have algebra next period right, Myers'?"

The abrupt greeting snapped me out of my daze. I'd been staring between Liam, Shane and Noah, watching but not saying anything. I pulled out my schedule, I still hadn't memorized the order, only to see that I did have algebra with Mr. Myers. "Yeah." I nodded. I guess I hadn't noticed yesterday. By that time, I was too busy keeping my head down.

"Awesome. So, you check out any teams yet?"

I bit my lip remembering Liam's comment about track. I shook my head. "No, but I was thinking of doing track?" It came out a question.

"Nice." Noah nodded.

"He's fast." Liam laughed. "I could barely catch you yesterday." He looked at me with a grin.

I shrugged. I was looking at someone sitting on the edge of the beach. She was wearing a flower print dress and brown strappy sandals. I hadn't seen her around yesterday.

"Hey, hello earth to Greyson!" Liam tapped me on the shoulder. "Dude!"

"Oh...uh sorry." I turned to Liam. "What were you saying?"

"We were saying, you can bore holes into someone." Liam sighed. "What were you staring at this time?"

"Who's she?" I nodded toward the girl.

"Dunno." Noah shrugged. "She comes out here a lot, but I don't think she goes to school here. She just watches the water."

"Have you ever talked to her?"

Liam and Noah exchanged a look. "No one really has."

I stood and started walking over.

"Where are you going?" Noah walked next to me.

"To say hi."

I continued walking, wondering what I was actually going to say when I got over there. I hadn't actually thought that far ahead.

The girl looked up and over as I approached. "Oh, hi!"

"Hi," I waved. "I'm Greyson."

"Blair." The girl held out a hand as she looked me up and down. "You wanna sit?"

"Uh… sure." I nodded.

"You're a student here?" She glanced at my backpack.

"It's my second day."

"Cool." She sighed. "You're so lucky you go to school here. I'd love to be this close to the beach."

"Where do you go to school?"

She grew quiet grabbing a fistful of sand and letting it run through her fingers. She seemed sad. "I don't anymore."

"What? What do you mean?" I raised my eyebrows, not go to school? That's impossible.

"Long story." She stood. "It was nice talking to you Greyson. I have to go. Maybe I'll see you again sometime." This was said all in a rush as she turned her back and began walking away, down the beach and away from the school.

I turned as I heard footsteps. "How'd it go?" Noah.

I shrugged. "She seems nice." A simple answer. There was something different about her, I couldn't put my finger on it yet, but I wanted to know more.

"Cool." Noah proffered a hand to help me to my feet. "You wanna head to class early? I need to ask Myers a question on the homework. Maybe we can sit together."

I grinned. I guess I'd made another friend. "Yeah totally."

Gabriella's POV

I had carpooled with Brianna, Bella and Mariana to the studio for dance class. Mariana said she had something big planned for class today, and we were all abuzz. As we walked into the studio, we were still talking about what it could possibly be, and Mariana still wasn't telling.

"Come on Mom, you have to tell us!" Brianna said.

"No I don't." Mariana grinned.

"Yeah you do Aunt Mari!" Bella and Brianna were double teaming her now. I just shook my head.

"You kind of do." I shrugged.

The bell above the door rang as Alex and Skylar walked in followed closely by Julia.

"Alright, everyone's here." Mariana looked pointedly at Bella and Brianna. "Now, I can finally tell you guys. There is an amazing opportunity that I just got word of. It's an exhibition in LA next month for up and coming dancers. They want us to perform two solos and a group number."

"Who's going to get the solos?" Alex raised her hand. "Will there be auditions?"

"Yes there will" She grabbed a clipboard grinning. "I'll pass around the sign-up sheet and if you're interested, just sign your name. We'll hold them at the end of the week."

I looked around to see who was signing up. Julia, no surprise there, signed with a flourish. Alex scratched her name underneath, then Brianna. She handed me the clipboard with a knowing smile.

"You better sign up or so help me."

"I don't know…" I really didn't. I loved dancing, but could I really pull off a solo, in LA of all places?

"You have to Gabby. I cannot have Julia Peters as my only competition." She shoved it in my face. "I won't survive these auditions."

I frowned taking the pen in my hand. "You're a drama queen you know that right?"

"Is that a yes? Please say that's a yes!"

In answer I pushed back the clipboard and bent over to sign my name. "Hold please."

"Yes!"

* * *

Class had ended some time ago, and once again it was just Brianna, Bella, Mariana and me. Mariana was cleaning up the studio and Bella, Brianna and I were sitting near the window.

"You're both auditioning?" Bella had seen the sign up sheet."This is gonna get crazy."

I shook my head. "Never. We'd never let that happen right Bri?"

"You know it."

"That's what they always say."

We laughed. As I turned, I noticed a small shadow at the window. "Hey, did you guys see that?"

"What?" Bella looked at the window where I was staring. "What?"

I stood, still watching. A girl stood staring into the large picture window of the studio. She had long brown hair and bangs that covered her forehead. She was holding something in her hand, it looked like two pieces of paper. She noticed me watching her and her eyes widened as she backed away. I made my decision, running to the door and out to try to catch her.

"Gabby, where are you going?" Bella shouted.

I knew the bell above the door would probably get Aunt Mariana's attention, but there was no other alternative. I looked toward the window the girl had been standing in front of just moments before, only to see her running down the block and one of the papers she had been holding falling to the ground, a paper on closer inspection, I noticed was a photograph facing down. I picked it up, and the person I saw in the photo was someone I instantly recognized, even though they were obviously younger. I had to talk to my dads.

* * *

 _ **A/N: Alright, so Lucian had his first day at Anchor Beach, he met Clark, Lucas and ran into someone from his past, Vincent who attends Anchor Beach. Greyson was hanging out with Liam and Shane. He was also introduced to Noah, and started talking to Blair who likes to spend time on the beach. Gabby, Brianna and Bella were in dance class and learned about the LA opportunity which involves solos that both Brianna and Gabby are going to audition for. Gabby also noticed a girl and tried to catch up to her, only to find the mysterious photo. So, thoughts? Who do you think is in the photograph? Who do you think the girl is? What about Vincent? Next chapter, more with Piper, Raina and Gabby talks to her dads and possibly more too.**_

 _ **Recurring characters I need (Stars next to the ones I need ASAP):**_

 _ ***1) Swim Coach**_

 _ ***2) Some wrestling team guys about 4. (14-17) At least one should be friends with Lucas, at least one should have a mean streak. At least one should be manipulative.**_

 _ **3)Two lawyers male or female that work in the foster system.**_

 _ **4) Two social workers that work with Jude, at least one should be a bit crooked. male or female.**_

 _ **5) A judge that works in the foster system, male or female**_

 _ ***6) A young male police officer in his mid to late twenties could be straight or bi**_

 _ ***7) A priest in the Church Raina attends**_


	11. Chapter 9

_**A/N: Okay, a million apologies. This took really long. I promise I have a really good explanation in the bottom author's note. I hope you enjoy it in spite of its tardiness.**_

* * *

 **Chapter Nine**

Piper's POV

I was sitting at my desk staring at the textbook that was open in front of me. I had a big test coming up in two days. I was barely halfway through the study guides. Between soccer practice and all of the drama with Christian, I was lucky to even be managing my schoolwork.

 **You understanding any of this?** I looked down at my phone to see a text from Danny. **I need help! :/**

I sighed. I understood it, but I was so tired I couldn't even focus. I typed out a quick reply. **Not really. LOL I think I'm broken :p** I looked at my phone display. It was almost eleven at night, and if I knew anything I knew that I would get a parent checkup in three...two…

I looked over as my dad knocked on the open door. "You _still_ studying?"

 **Nah, teacher's just a hardnose, doesn't think we have lives. Forget hitting the books, I'm hitting the sack. Beach tomorrow?**

I rolled my eyes. **I have practice.**

 **And I repeat, are you an automaton? Night Pip, don't work too hard! :p**

"Piper?" Dad walked over, leaning to inspect the textbooks. "What is this, elvish?"

I shook my head. "Calc."

"Same thing isn't it?" He perched himself on my bed. "It's late. You should get some sleep kiddo."

As if to mock me, a yawn rose up in my throat. "Can't… test is in two days. I still haven't finished the study guides."

He raised an eyebrow. "I'll talk to Mom. Maybe you should skip soccer practice tomorrow."

"No!" I shook my head. "No I can handle it Dad, I swear."

He shook his head as he began to walk towards the door. "You are your mother's daughter, did I ever tell you that?"

I rolled my eyes. "Night Dad."

"Try to get some sleep okay?" He turned off the hall light as he walked down the hall to their bedroom.

I continued to work, not even really focusing on the clock, but by the time one o'clock hit, I had fallen asleep on top of my textbooks.

* * *

My alarm was blaring and I blinked, realizing I still sat at my desk.

"Piper's awake!" I heard my sister shouting which of course caused me to bolt upright and hit my head.

"Damn it!"

Rory's face curled in sympathy. "Were you sleep workin'?  
"Dunno." My voice came out slurred with exhaustion.

"Daddy's not gonna be happy."

I stood following her out of the bedroom. "Don't remind me."

The first thing I noticed when we got downstairs is that James and Dad were nowhere to be seen, and Mara and Mom sat at the table. I was almost relieved, almost, until Mom put her coffee cup down and looked right at me.

"Dad took James to school already. I kept your breakfast warm." There was nothing out of the ordinary in that sentence, but the look she gave me was enough to send my gaze to my feet.

"Thanks." I sat at the table poking at the food on my plate, taking occasional bites but tasting none of it. I was already five minutes late. Classes didn't actually start for another fifteen minutes, but I always tried to get to school early leaving with Dad, so that I could make sure I had everything in order.

"You alright?" I met Mara's gaze. She was looking at me curiously.

"Yeah." I nodded. "I'm fine."

"You didn't get any sleep did you?" Mara asked.

I shrugged, a yawn answering the question for me.

"Today's going to be interesting for you." She shook her head. "Good luck."

Raina's POV

I was sitting outside the classroom waiting for our teacher to arrive as I thumbed through the Robert Frost poem we had to read as part of our homework. I couldn't even focus on the words. My mind was still outside the Church. I had seen my sister Rachel. I hadn't seen or spoken to her in two years, not since I had gotten kicked out. I couldn't. I knew it would bring up nothing but trouble. I had made my choice. " _Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, and sorry I could not travel both…"_ Great, even my homework was mocking me.

"Raina!" I turned to see Anabella, Annie. Annie and I had met during my first week at Anchor Beach and we clicked pretty quickly. "You okay?"

I nodded giving a small smile. "Yeah,"

Annie didn't seem convinced. "You sure?"

I reached for her hand. "I'm fine I promise." I was still confused about what to do about Rachel, but I didn't want to worry her.

"You doing anything after school today?" Annie asked. "I don't really wanna go home."

"I'll ask Lena if you can come by for dinner."

"Did you talk to them yet?" Annie began worrying her bottom lip. "Do they know….? About us I mean?"

This was another concern. I still hadn't told Stef and Lena that I liked girls. I knew I was probably panicking over nothing, but I'd lived one horror story already. I didn't want to chance another. Theirs were the first place I'd felt safe in a long time.

"Did you tell Zack?" I fired back with another question.

Annie sighed. "Will you… please?"

"Yes." I gave a weak smile. There was no way around this. I couldn't keep it from them. I couldn't do that to Annie. I couldn't do that to Stef and Lena, and I couldn't keep lying to myself.

Gabby's POV

"You almost ready?" Dad tapped on my open bedroom door. After I had gotten ready, I had sat on my bed and continued staring at the photo trying to piece it together. It had kept my attention all night through dinner, and even through breakfast this morning. "What do you keep staring at, a love letter?"

I blinked looking up and shaking my head. "No!"

"I forgot, they don't do those anymore." Dad laughed. "Is it a love status?"

I screwed up my face. "Ugh, god! It's not a _love_ anything."

"So Papa and I don't have to threaten any guys then?" Dad almost looked disappointed. "That's a shame. Alright, lets have it." Dad sat next to me on the bed.

"I found it outside the dance studio." I held out the photo. "Did Danny tell Papa?"

The photo showed a young boy with the same dusty brown hair as Uncle Danny. His hands were on the shoulders of a young girl, a few years younger. They stood in front of a house next to two men and a woman with the same green eyes as the children. The whole family was grinning. A sign on the lawn read SOLD.

"I…" Dad's eyes widened. "I'll let him know."

"Dad…" I looked at him. "Don't tell Danny. I want to ask him myself."

" _I_ won't, but I can't make any promises for Papa." Dad nodded.

"Can't you make sure?"

"It's his job Gabby." Dad squeezed my shoulder. "School time. Hurry up."

* * *

 _ **A/N: Alright, so Piper was up late with homework and is going to school exhausted, Raina is considering coming out to Stef and Lena about her relationship with Annie, who was submitted by LovesMonster and Gabby told Connor about the photo she found which may provide a clue to Danny's past.**_

 _ **On an apology note: I'm so sorry my updating has been crazy. I actually received a few concerned reviews on other stories. I just started my second year of college and I'm going for an English degree which involves a lot of extra writing and reading so my full length fanfics have kind of been pushed to the side. I posted a tentative update schedule on my profile.**_

 _ **On a business/story note: I still need some recurring characters for later storylines. Stars by the ones I need asap. Just PM me and I'll send a form.**_

 _ ***1) Swim Coach**_

 _ ***2) Some wrestling team guys about 3. (14-17) At least one should be friends with Lucas, at least one should have a mean streak. At least one should be manipulative.**_

 _ **3)Two lawyers male or female that work in the foster system.**_

 _ ***4) Two social workers that work with Jude, at least one should be a bit crooked. male or female.**_

 _ **5) A judge that works in the foster system, male or female**_

 _ ***6) A young male police officer in his mid to late twenties could be straight or bi**_

 _ ***7) A priest in the Church Raina attends**_

 _ **On a fun note: I got a suggestion from AnaHalls to make a oneshot collection companion to this story with some additional background on characters, past or present situations and maybe even some future scenarios to give you all some extra tidbits and answer some lingering questions about characters you may be curious about, and to kind of help me orient their backgrounds a bit more. It will be called Family Album:With Arms Wide Open Oneshots. I will be taking requests, and who knows maybe it will be a nice bonus if I can't always update this as fast as I'd like. :)**_


	12. Chapter 10

**_A/N: Hey, I finally got this chapter ready! My only excuse is college kicking my butt... so many essays, and a small bout of writer's block. Why must the Fosters hiatus be so long? I miss having it to look forward to on Mondays. Anyways, thank you for your patience, and persistent reviews to help kick me into gear! Hope you enjoy._**

* * *

 **Chapter Ten**

Amber's POV

"Hey Am,Charlie!" I turned toward the sound of the voice. "Oh my god, I've got great news!" It was Britt who joined us in front of the bank of lockers. "Guess who just scored us four invites to the wrestling team's party Saturday?"

I pretended to think it over. "I dunno, uh... Molly?"

Britt pointed to herself.

"You're _not_ serious?" I grinned at Charlie's enthusiasm, but on the inside I was panicking. This was going to be my first high school party. Not good, not good.

"Isn't it great?"

"Yeah, it's awesome!" I gave a thumbs up. I turned to Charlie, barely able to contain my panic. " _What do I do?"_

Charlie shrugged in my direction before turning back to Britt. "So, who's all going?"

"Well, Aaron Michelson is hosting, no surprise there. The wrestling team and almost the whole school.." Britt turned to me grinning. "Caleb's going to be there, so no backing out!"

"How do you know?" I asked.

Britt sighed. "I asked him of course. You should try it some time."

"For someone who has a lot of crushes, you sure don't talk to boys a lot." Charlie laughed.

"I prefer to admire from a distance." I sputtered.

"He's practically your seat mate Amber." Charlie deadpanned. "There's only so many times you can drop a pencil before the guy actually wants to talk to you."

"I thank him!" I shouted.

"Uh ...uh... and putting up a book fort doesn't translate to thank you in any language my friend." Charlie patted my shoulder.

"Does he say anything about me?" I couldn't help but ask even though I already had an idea of what the answer would be.

Britt smiled. "You know, the other day he did ask me about you when we were talking about the party."

That was _not_ what I had been expecting. "You're joking."

"Nope." Britt shook her head. "He actually asked if you would be there. Said he couldn't wait to talk to you."

Well, this was a new development. I had to call Molly.

"So, let me get this straight," Molly and I were sitting on the beach. "Britt got us all invitations to the wrestling team's party, and Caleb Mayson is going to be there?" She grinned. "This is _so_ perfect!"

"Perfect potential for disaster maybe." I sighed.

"You won't know if you don't put yourself out there." Molly said. "I'm not sitting in your living room with Netflix when we actually got invited. We're gonna go to the party. Lucas is going to be there isn't he, and the whole school so no doubt the rest of your family will show. If worse comes to worse, Lucas will make Caleb's high school career a living hell." She shrugged. "Nothing to it."

I laughed. That actually did sound like something Lucas would do.

"And if you feel weird about, we'll leave, the others can find their own way back." She grinned.

"Okay," I nodded. "Sounds great!"

"Really? Oh my god, we're gonna have so much fun." Molly laughed. "I promise."

Sasquia's POV

"You did great today." Coach Kelly smiled as I climbed out of the pool. "Your times were better than I've ever seen them."

"Thanks." I smiled back.

"You're gonna go pretty far if you keep this up." She tapped me on the shoulder. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"See you tomorrow!" I walked over to where Papa sat. "So?"

"You did so good 'Quia." Papa smiled. "You feeling okay?"

I nodded, knowing what was coming. "Yeah, great."

"You didn't feel dizzy or anything, you ate?"

"Yes," I rolled my eyes. "I always do."

"Good."

We began walking to where the car was parked, a frequent train of thought once again invading, and once again as Papa started the car, I felt as if he could sense everything I was thinking. Ever since that day, it's been absolutely suffocating. Sometimes, I just wish that he could understand.

"What are you thinking?" Papa didn't take his eyes off the road.

I shook my head. "Nothing."

"Come on," I could hear the amusement in his voice. "You're never this quiet after practice. What's bugging you?"

I shook my head as I put my earbuds in my ears. I couldn't.

Papa watched me carefully, until we ended up at a red light just as his cell phone rang.

"Hi," He held up a finger as I breathed a sigh of relief. "Wait, you're kidding? When did you get back?"

I noticed that he was grinning. It must have actually been good news. It never was good news when Papa was on the phone, not that I could remember, so when he hung up, I took full advantage to get the topic off of me. "What's going on?"

"Uncle AJ just got in."

"Wait, wait, wait…" I narrowed my eyes, a smirk appearing on my lips. "He called _you?_ "

"And why is that so hard to believe?" Papa teased.

"I dunno." I shrugged. "Gramma said you barely talked to him when he lived with you."

"I was thirteen!"

"I'm thirteen." I rolled my eyes.

"Well, we taught you better." He shoved me as the light finally changed.

Lucas' POV

"Yo Adams-Foster!" I turned around to see Aaron. We were in the locker room packing up after practice. "You're coming Saturday right?"

I pretended to consider it. It was a running gag between Aaron and I. "Yeah, yeah. You're not gonna ditch me for a girl again are you?"

"Well, I am the host." He smirked. "Coach is really coming down on grades this time around huh? You worried?"

Ever since Dad had had his monthly meeting with Nana and Timothy, players were being handed slips left and right. Usually after someone got a slip, they'd have to be paired with a tutor and then they wouldn't be allowed to be in meets until their GPA was up.

I scoffed. "There's no way."

Little did I know.

* * *

"I can't _believe_ this!" I slammed the heavy bag with my fist, not even caring that I wasn't wearing gloves, and nearly hitting Logan in the face.

"You really didn't think Dad would let you off the hook?" Logan asked as he ducked another punch.

"I just thought… that maybe I'd be able to get them up before he noticed."

Logan laughed. "You'd need to steal all of the test keys. Even you aren't dumb enough to try that."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Logan gummed up as I shook my head before he spoke again.

"Just do the tutoring. If you do what they expect, you'll be back on before the season's up."

"You're pretty smart."

"It… really... isn't that hard to figure out."

I groaned. "Just take the freaking compliment!"

* * *

 ** _A/N: Alright, so Amber got invited to her first high school party. We met her friends Charlie and Britt. Sasquia had some father bonding with Jude who she feels a bit smothered by and also found out that AJ's back in town. Lucas is on academic probation from the wrestling team and is not very happy with Jesus. Next chapter: Danny visits the drop-in- center and gets news from Stef and Lena as Gabby forces him to face his past, Bella has some trouble with bullies, Lucian talks to Vincent_**

 ** _I still need a few recurring characters for upcoming storylines:_**

 **1) A lawyer male or female that works in the foster system.**

 ***2) A young male police officer in his mid to late twenties could be straight or bi**

 ***3) A priest in the Church Raina attends**

 **4) A foster kid who's aged out of the system. (18-22) Gender up to you.**

 **Stars next to the ones I need ASAP. If you're interested just PM me and I'll send you a form and some info about their role in the story.**


	13. Chapter 11

_**A/N: Hey, yes I'm alive! I finally got past this massive writer's block, and with the Fosters only three days away. This chapter didn't have as much as I originally planned, but there is still quite a lot. Hope you like.**_

* * *

 **Chapter Eleven**

Lucian's POV

"Hey, you doing alright?" I was at my locker. Somehow, he'd found me… again. Not that I should've been very surprised. "I know the first week can be pretty...rough." Vincent tried for a look of concern. I can't lie, I'd been fooled by the act before: his eyebrows knit together, a sort of half-frown. The dude was good. To any passersby, it looked like a classmate trying to help a new kid, or a friendship forming. Two words for that: bull. shit.

"Better before you showed up." I kept my expression neutral, but the scowl was threatening. wobbling to the surface. "What the _hell_ are you doing here?"

"Wow," Vincent whistled through his teeth. "Is that any way to treat a friend Rivers?"

"You're dodging the question." I stepped toward him, pushing him into an empty classroom as I shut the door behind me. "Talk. Now."

"She wants you back Luc, both of you." His tongue brushed over his teeth. "I'm just… here to make sure that happens."

"You know it won't." I maintained my grip on his collar. I'd be damned if I let us go back to that hell, Riley most of all. She was finally getting a chance at normal. There was no way Vince was going to jeopardize that.

Vincent shook his head. "Still bullheaded. You know what we can do right? You didn't forget that fast?" He smiled as my grip loosened, my hands dropping to my sides, defeated for now. "That new family of yours… if you mess with us, if you tell anyone about any of it, they're as good as fucked."

"You're an asshole."

Vincent sighed. "It would make things easier if you just went back with us, but if war's what you want, happy to play. I'd watch your back if I were you."

I moved away from the door, still shooting daggers even as Vincent left the classroom. He was right. I'd started a war. I just wasn't sure if I'd be able to prevent the collateral damage.

Bella's POV

I only had to get to my locker then to Nana's office. If I was lucky, I could get there before Stacy even left her class.

"Going somewhere shrimp?" As I stood from zipping my backpack, I saw him. Dylan, one of the meanest boys in the eighth grade. I had forgotten about him.

"H...home." I squeaked out.

He slammed his arm in front of me, so my exit was blocked. "I thought nerds stayed at school on the weekends."

I shook my head mutely.

"Hey Bells!" I heard another voice, causing me to wince. It was Stacy. "Leaving so soon? I thought I told you I wanted to talk."

"I don't." I tried to edge my way around only to be even more forcefully pinned against the locker.

"Aww." Stacy sighed. "That hurts my feelings. I just want to help you."

I looked at her. "With what?"

She held up a tube of what looked like lipstick. "Fashion tips of course." Then before I knew what was happening, she had opened the tube and was putting it on me. I struggled to get out of Dylan's hold.

"I don't want it!" I growled struggling even more.

"What's that?" Dylan said. And then he kicked me, and kept kicking until I was curled up, a crying mess in front of my locker.

"Get the picture quick!" I heard one of Stacy's friends whisper, the sound of a camera phone, and then the hallway was clear as the last bell for dismissal rang like a shot.

As they left, I stood my legs shaking as I walked to the girl's bathroom. The hallway was pretty clear at this point so there was little chance of being spotted. I was grateful. I knew I'd be found eventually. One of my sister's was bound to come looking for me, but until then, I enjoyed the peace that the relative emptiness of the bathroom provided. I turned on the sink and began working on wiping the gunk off. My struggling had resulted in it being everywhere, a crooked line of red down my chin, on my cheeks and my lips. Despite myself, and in spite of the fact that anyone could come walking in at any time, tears came flooding out. The worst part of all of it was that they had gotten a picture, and were probably uploading it even as I washed the evidence away.

"Bella, what, what happened?" I turned only to see Atta standing in the doorway looking nervous. "Are you okay?"

I sighed shaking my head.

Atta walked in letting the door shut behind her. "You should, should talk to Lena."

"It'll just make things worse."

"You don't know that." Atta grabbed my hand. "Come, come on. Let's get out of here."

Danny's POV

I sat in Lena's office as I waited for her to finish. Being in the principal's office never got any easier, even if the principal was my foster mom. Especially when Mrs. Gonzalez kept watching me over her computer screen. She was trying to be discreet, but I could see her looking, probably trying to see if Lucas was anywhere around. He had a meeting with Jesus, so I doubted it. I sighed as I shifted my backpack to the other shoulder. I wished he was here. It would get me out of my head.

I kind of knew I wouldn't have any luck. Who was I kidding? The system made kids disappear better than the CIA ever could. Even that app I had downloaded Fost and Found or some crap like that didn't register anything. That had to mean something, something good I hoped, but I knew better. Nothing good could ever come from not being easily spotted, well, unless you were me.

"Hey Danny, can I get you anything?" Mrs. Gonzalez finally said something. "Soda, water, juice?"

I looked up suddenly feeling my throat dry up. Damn, I guess I was thirsty. "Can I have a Sprite?"

Mrs. Gonzalez nodded. "Coming right up." As I watched her go to the fridge, I noticed someone standing outside. It was Gabby. She tapped the window quickly, motioning for me to come out. I shrugged. She persisted. She looked like she was doing the chicken dance, or playing a bad round of charades. I saw the can of sprite on the edge of the desk closest to me. Mrs. Gonzalez had taken a phone call. I could probably slip out without being noticed. I swiped the can and walked out frowning.

"What are you _doing_?" I asked.

"I needed to talk to you." Gabby said. She was fiddling with something in her hands, a piece of paper it looked like.

"And you couldn't knock on the door?"

She mumbled incoherently It sounded like Mrs. Gonzalez and something about a tiger.

"Gonzalez scares _you_?" I scoffed at the thought. I didn't think Gabby had been anywhere near Lena's office in the time I knew her.

"I didn't want her or Nana to know about this."

I narrowed my eyes. "Know about what Gabby?"

That's when she flipped the piece of paper she was holding, revealed that it was actually a photograph. A photograph that I hadn't seen in years. They smiled up at me from a place long forgotten. It almost made me drop the can I was holding.

"Gabby…" My voice was far away, growing closer and more dangerous by the second. I took a deep breath trying to steady myself. "Where did you _find this_?"

* * *

 _ **A/N: Alright, so next chapter is going to be the last chapter to take place on Friday. Gabby is going to try to get answers from Danny, Danny talks to Stef and Lena, the drop in center visit, basically all the rest of the stuff that was supposed to happen this chapter, plus Raina talks to Stef and Lena, and Sam finds out something of interest about Moon.**_

 _ **Also I need some recurring characters ASAP in order to really get things moving. Let me know if you're interested and I'll PM you info about their role in the story and a form.**_

 _ **1) A young male police officer in his mid to late twenties could be straight or bi.**_

 _ **2) A lawyer, male or female, that works in the foster system**_

 _ **3) A priest in the church Raina attends**_


	14. Chapter 12

_**A/N: Good news, I got this chapter finished and posted. I had to split it up because it kind of had a mind of its own, so I kind of lied when I said this would be the last Friday chapter, but I think it's a good one. I wanted to post something to let you know I was alive and still writing. Once again, not that a reminder is necessary, I do not own the Fosters, that's Freeform's department. I do not even own these wonderful characters you let me borrow. The only main characters who are mine are Danny and Amber. I am simply the director if you will. This story would not be possible without you guys, so thank you for letting me entertain you and putting up with a long college related absence!**_

* * *

 **Chapter Twelve**

Gabby's POV

" _Gabby...where did you find_ this _?"_ I watched Danny, my mouth suddenly dry. The transformation was startling. In that moment, I could understand the reputation. His shoulders tensed. I could see the soda he held, the can buckling under the pressure of his grip, a grip I imagined desperate. The boy in the photo flashed before my eyes, blending and morphing with my friend in front of me. It was the same grip I imagined holding onto the skirt of the woman in the photo, the same grip with which he held the girl. I also noticed the danger, a response I'd seen, had, too often. This could go one of two ways. If it were me, I'd be down the hall out of sight, but I saw Danny turn toward the wall, jumped as I heard the slam, an open handed, almost wet sound. He braced against it, two hands, pushing hard against something he couldn't control. He was still. Almost too still.

"Danny? Are you-" I stepped toward him, reaching a hand out, trying to get him to respond.

He pushed himself off of the wall he'd been leaning against. I had to scramble back to avoid being knocked down.

"Just…" He shook his head. I saw wetness growing around his eyes. "I can't deal with this right now Gabby. I just… I _can't_." He turned on his heel walking down the hallway. I watched him growing smaller and smaller, determination growing in my chest until it spurred me forward. I had to run to keep up.

"Danny, come on!" I shouted. My voice echoed around the nearly empty hallway. I was close enough to grab his arm, the force of adrenaline and the unexpectedness of my attack enough to get him to face me as I shoved the photo in front of him. "Who _are they_?"

Danny blinked quickly shaking his head. I saw the fight leaving him, his shoulders dropped. He grabbed my hand, the one that still held his arm and he pulled me to a bank of lockers. He slid down sitting against them. His grip was so tight, I had no choice but to do the same.

"So…" My voice was a whisper.

"My sister." It came out as a question. "She's the only one that could've had this picture." He shook his head again, the same frantic movement of a few minutes ago. "It's impossible. We…" His voice cracked. "We were separated. It's been..." He trailed off.

That's all I needed to hear. "This… that's good news isn't it? If that picture is your sister's you can find her! Callie can help you find her."

Danny closed his eyes. He was rocking, breathing heavily. "I didn't think… I didn't…" He sighed turning to me. "I don't know."

I handed him the photo. He took it. His grip was gentle, like he thought the picture would disappear into thin air. He looked at me, his mouth opened then closed. I nodded. "It's yours."

Danny's POV

I stared at the picture. I couldn't think of anything to say. What could I say? _Say something you moron._ No shit. I wanted to scream, I wanted to cry, I wanted to thank her, but I just felt...nothing. You would think after struggling to find answers for so long, this tiny shred of a clue in this old photo would be exciting, but all I felt was nothing. I guess you could call it shock, but it was more like exhaustion. I just wanted to go home, hide in my bedroom and puzzle it out, but unfortunately that wasn't an option as I heard the sound of heeled shoes walking down the hallway

"Oh, hi Gabby." Lena said.

"Hi Gramma."

"Everything okay?" I stuffed the photo deep into my jean pocket as Lena looked between us. Gabby narrowed her eyes at me. I know she wants me to tell, but telling her took a lot. I don't think I could tell anyone else.

"Great." I nodded. "So, you said we were going to see Callie right?" I can still feel Gabby's eyes on me. I'm tempted to turn, but I keep my voice normal and my eyes trained on my foster mom. Forward, that's the only way to look now. Look back and get burned.

"Yeah, yeah that's right." Lena looked between us again. She knows. She knows something's up. " Gabby, Jude's going to meet us at the center, do you want to come with us?"

Gabby shrugged. Her eyes met mine. "Thanks Gramma, but I'm meeting 'Quia."

"Okay, well, you have a good weekend."

I don't hear Gabby's reply. I don't hear much of anything really. All of my attention is focused on the photograph burning a hole in my jeans.

Raina's POV

We'd never ridden in Stef's squad car before. Stef explains something about leaving work early, about Lena having to take Danny to an appointment with Jude and Callie. Her eyes never leave Greyson and Atta. I can see something there. She's worried about their reactions. Lei-Lani squeezes Atta's hand whispering, and then suddenly Atta seems herself, despite the cage separating her from the front seat. She begins talking about something that happened in her social studies class. But Greyson, he's quiet, more so than usual, and his leg is bouncing.

"Hey kiddo, you okay?" Stef knelt down beside the door. I backed away. As soon as Stef started asking questions, Greyson nodded, smiled a bit, gave a thumbs up. Stef narrowed her eyes and I knew she was skeptical.

The conversation that I want to start with Stef is blocking my vocal chords, so even as I take my place next to Greyson in the car, I can do little more than smile in his direction. In my distraction, it probably doesn't look all that reassuring.

My mind wanders back and forth between what I want to say, and all of the possible ways this could go wrong. There are a lot, because it's not just Stef and Lena that I have to worry about. I look at Greyson, Atta and Lei-Lani, and what about the others? Were they as accepting as they seemed? It's one thing if it's your parents, but I was as close to a stranger as they could get, someone they could just cut out of their lives with a call to social services. It would be easier for them than it had been for my family, and it had been easy. I didn't want to lose another family, but it had to be tonight, whatever the consequences.

* * *

 ** _A/N: So, what'd you think? Next chapter coming soon. It will most likely be longer than this, because finding a cutoff is difficult now that I do not have classes bogging me down for three months. Also, big news! The oneshot collection is officially started under the title_ Oneshots: With Arms Wide Open a Companion Book _Yay! On the business side of things, I do need a few recurring characters if you would like to make some. Let me know in a review and I will send you a form and info about their role in the story. The cutoff is going to be the Fosters premiere on June 20th, if I don't get these characters by then, I will probably make them myself so the storylines can continue._**

 ** _1) A priest at the church Raina attends_**


End file.
